Ann Hammel and I represented the American Quilter's Society at the China International Quilt Festival in Keqiao, China. We met quilters from China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, and the U.S. Ate a lot of different food. Photos are on my Blog.

20 Years at AQS - August 2014

In August I celebrate 20 years of employment at the American Quilter's Society. Now I am a member of the AQS 20-year Pearls Club. Who could believe that the time has gone that fast?

Alaskan Cruise - May 2014

I taught Zentangle Art on the Norwegian Jewel as we cruised to Alaska. Took my Mom with me and we had a great time. It was her first cruise. Loved the views from the Skagway Train ride. Photos are on my Blog.

Trip to Egypt - March 2014

Melissa Winters and I flew to Cairo, Egypt in March to meet with the Tentmakers of Cairo and select more of their applique art for exhibit and sale at the AQS QuiltWeek events in the fall. See my Blog for photos and more.

Another New Book - February 2013

This past week, AQS released another updated version of Triangles at Play that I co-wrote with Phyllis D. Miller. Look under the Books heading for more information and to order this book.

NEW BOOK - February 2013

Just when you thought I didn't have a thing to do, AQS has released a revision of my paper piecing book - Love to Quilt: Easy Paper Piecing. Check it out under the Books heading here on my website. Or, go to order your copy today.

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Cairo, Egypt - December 2012

In December, Jenny Bowker flew from Australia and I flew from Nashville to Cairo, Egypt. Together we selected more pieces of applique art by the Tentmakers of Cairo for the AQS QuiltWeek events in Lancaster, PA, March 13 - 16, and in Paducah, KY, April 24 - 27, 2013.

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It was an amazing trip, from spending time with Jenny Bowker who lived in Egypt when her husband, Bob, was the Ambassador from Australia. to meeting the Tentmakers and seeing the many different designs they make in applique, to visiting the Pyramids and going into some of the tombs. It's hard to imagine how old the tombs are. I'll do another blog about the tombs - we did get to do a little photographing inside one of them (without flash). We also visited the Egyptian Museum to see the artifacts of King Tut.

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I didn't ride a camel, but I did have my picture taken with one.

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By the end of the week, I felt very much like family with the men of Shariya Khayamiya, or “street of the tentmakers." Jenny is called the "mother" of the Tentmakers by the men on the street. They now call me their "other mother." Jenny has helped keep these shops running by introducing their work to other countries where people can use it as wall art.

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Their shops were very small and just packed with their stitched pieces. Below is one of the shops we visited. You can see that they have a bench on both side walls with just enough room to walk down the center to look at their work.

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While we were there, I signed, on behalf of AQS, the agreements with each of the Tentmakers' shops designating the American Quilter's Society as their exclusive representative for the exhibition and sale of their work in the United States. Last year we had exhibitions and sales of their work in Grand Rapids and Des Moines. This year we have new artwork for the exhibitions and sales of their work in Lancaster and Paducah. In addition, some of the appliqued art pieces are available for sale on the AQS website, www.AmericanQuilter.com, click on Shop AQS, then scroll down to Quilts for Sale. The pieces on the website can be shipped immediately.

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You really need to come to one of these shows (Lancaster and Paducah) to watch Hosam and Tarek stitch. Their needles just fly. Tarek even stitched blindfolded when one of the quilters make a comment that he wasn't even looking at what he was doing. So he took a piece of fabric and covered his eyes, and continued to stitch.

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I purchased some of their artwork for Christmas gifts, and everyone loved them. Here is a photo of the piece we gave to my sister Karen. She has a perfect wall for it, and I knew she needed burgundy, and dark green to go with her living room. It will be beautiful on her wall.

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I can't wait to go back for another visit - to visit my Tentmaker friends, our AQS team of Ahmed and Mohamad, and to see more of Egypt.

The AQS Batiking Adventure to Bali was certainly a trip of a lifetime. We learned so much about the people and their culture, and the Balinese were very gracious hosts. Click on the photo of Bonnie and Wayne to see more photos of our trip. I'll write more about the trip soon, so come back to learn more about Bali.

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Every photographer just loves it when nature cooperates. As I was focusing to shoot the boats moored near the Parrot Key Restaurant in Ft. Myers, this beautiful dolphin jumped into my picture. Sometimes you could sit a whole day and not get a shot that shows anything except where the dolphin went into the water. They are so graceful, and fun to watch. The rain clouds were moving in, making for a very colorful sky too.